As of January 1, the state has recovered property worth 174 million 545 thousand dollars: Anna Vardapetyan

As of January 1, 2025, a total of property equivalent to 174 million 545 thousand dollars or 66 billion 250 million drams has been returned to the state, mainly through the authority of filing claims to protect state interests, along with prosecutorial intervention, which allows for the extrajudicial recovery of property for the state and communities. This was stated by the Chief Prosecutor Anna Vardapetyan during the government meeting on December 4.

“During these 11 months, we have returned 3 kindergartens, a cultural house, a stadium, natural monuments, parks, and land areas in all regions of Armenia, which are measured not in square meters, but in hectares,” she said.

According to the Chief Prosecutor, cash resources have also been recovered. “Last year, on December 5, the government decided to create a unified account for recovered funds, into which all cash recoveries are deposited, except for those related to the tax sector, which are paid to the unified account of taxpayers. I would like to point out that as of today, December 5, 2024, we have received 20 billion 678 million drams into the unified account for recovered funds,” she added.

Next week, this amount of 66 billion drams is likely to increase because last week, two large plots of land were returned to the state. “These properties transferred to the state for 49 years under gratuitous use were given to the 'Animal World' LLC. In this regard, the Prosecutor's Office conducted an investigation within the framework of protecting state interests, and currently, a criminal case is being investigated in the anti-corruption committee. It pertains to the former governor of the Ararat region, and essentially, the land has been granted to a member of the Republican Party and the driver of a person holding the position of Minister of Territorial Administration and to the former governor of Ararat. These individuals were to use more than 13 thousand hectares of land for free for 49 years,” she mentioned, informing that these plots have been entirely returned to the Republic of Armenia, and that the valuation of these two plots will be presented to the public soon.